c, 8 BEHIND THE FRONT PAGE
the Luneville area. The division did not see the trenches
until October. Much later it was ordered into Picardy to assist
the "French in holding back the enemy after his big break
through the British Fifth Army. It looked like a bloody bat-
tle. I was attached to the Division machine-gun battalion.
In the forced march from the east, division headquarters
were located in fields or villages. Just before orders were
given to advance on the last stage of the march, a hurry call
was issued demanding the presence of every officer at
Chaumont-en-Vixen, Hundreds of them, including brigadier-
generals and colonels, gathered in the yard of the old chateau
at an appointed hour. Accompanied by Major-General Robert
Lee Bullard, then division commander, General Pershing
emerged from the chateau and delivered a lecture that his
hearers will never forget.
There was no oratory in the speech. It was sound advice.
What the General lacked in word rhythm and verbal em-
phasis he made up in sweeping arm-length, fist-clenched
gestures.
"You are going to meet savage enemies flushed with vic-
tory," he said. "Meet them like Americans! You are leading
men. Be an inspiration to them! When you hit, hit hard and
don't stop hitting* You don't know the meaning of the word
defeat. When you get into it, forget all you've learned out
of books. Use your heads and hit hard!"
There was more to the speech. It impressed well enough on
young untried leaders of troops that the honor of the entire
United States, past, present and future, and that of the Amer-
ican army depended upon them. The effect was miraculous.
The exultant enemy, however, changed his mind about
smashing through the Montdidier sector where American
troops took up positions. But this sector was drenched with
shell-fire, some 20,000 missiles a day on the American front